Covering heels



April 16, 1929. J, B ER 1,709,307

COVERING HEELS Filed Dec. 1927 IN V EN TOR.

\ 'ATON and breast faces of the heel.

Patented Apr. 16, 1929,-

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH BURGER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

COVERING HEELS.

Application filed December 9, 1927. 'Serial No. 238,750.

This invention relates to the covering of Wooden heels with leather and like material. The present practise is to stretch the leather cover over the back of the adhesively coated heel, to trim the edges with a pair of scissors or the like, and to then fold these roughly trimmed edges in over the top, bottom This rough trimming leaves an excess of material about the edges which must be removed before the heel is applied to the shoe. Thls final trimming is done by hand With a sharp knife, usually just before the heel 1s fastened to the sole-of the shoe. These two trimming operations require considerable skill on the part of the operator, take quite a bit of time and the results are more or less irregular and uncertain, depending upon the skill and care of the operator.

The objects of the present invention are to eliminate the irregularities and uncertainties mentioned and to finish off the edges.

of the cover in a single, practically continuous operation, which may be performed when the cover is being applied to the heel, so that with this one handling, the covered heel is ready to be applied to the shoe.

These objects are attained by gaging and cutting the projecting edges of the cover to a predetermined desired marginal Width after the cover is applied and while the edges of the cover blank areprojecting in the clear, as they do when the blank is first stretched over. the heel.

Othernovel features of the invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification illustrates a practical embodiment of the invention and a machine for and method of effecting the same.

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a heel with a leather cover applied thereto and indicating by broken lines how theportions of the cover which then roject practically straight out from the eel are cut on a definite margin.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the marginal portion trimmed to the desired width and also how this narrow edge is folded in and secured smoothly and practically without wrinkling;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one form of gaging and cutting mechanism for trimming the edges to the desired width.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the covered heel showing a serrated form of edge cut.

Figure 5 is an enlarged broken cross sec tion as on substantially the plane of line 55 of Figure 4.

- As shown in Figure l, the cover blank 6 is made of such size and shape that when it is stretched over the adhesively coated heel7, it will project all around, leaving relatively wide marginal portions 8 standing out at all sides. In this invention, these marginal portions are trimmed, while in this outstanding relation, to a definite outline, as indicated by the continuous border line 9 in Figures 1 and 2.

The means for effecting this" definite trimming is shown in Figure 3 as a reciprocating knife 10 cooperating with a guide andsupport 11 and having a gage 12 positioned to hold the body of the heel away from the knife a distance substantially equal to the width of the marginal strip 13 which it is desired to leave at the edge of the cover for overlapping the top, breast and bottom surfaces of the heel.

In practise, the trimming is preferably done as one single continuous cut, starting in, for instance, at one edge, as indicated at 14 in Figure 1, and sliding the body of the heel along over the gage so as to extend the cut continuously up along one side edge of the breast, around the top of the heel, down the other side edge of the breast and then across the bottom'of the heel. At the upper breast corners the material may be notched or cut away as indicated at 15, and similarly, at the lower breast corners, material may be notched as shown at 16, to enable the margins along the breast to fold inward without puckering or wrinkling where these marginal portions meet the top and bottom The edges of the material can be readily .gaged and evenly trimmed inthe outstan ng position they occupy when the cover is heel block is in condition to securely hold the marginal portions. Thus the operator may readily perform the two operations of trimming the cover evenly all around thetop, bottom and breast faces and then fold the trimmed margins into secured relation over the top, bottom and breast surfaces. The heel then is completely covered and finished, ready'to go onto the shoe without any further trimming or finishing operations. This is a great saving in time and labor and the product is uniform and not dependent upon the skill and attention of the operator.

Only a relatively narrow margin is needed to secure the heel cover firmly in place, which margin ma be so narrow as indicated in Figure 2, that it will fold in smoothly over the edges of the heel sea't without wrinkling. When the cover is trimmed with a serrated edge as in Figure 4, all tendency to puckering or wrinkling is overcome, a novel ornamental efiect is produced and the heel and cover can be g ued more firmly to the sole because of the glue entering in the notches between the teeth and forming bonds between the wood of the heel, the edges of the notches and the material of the sole.

As an additional feature, the evenly trimmed margins may be automatically turned in by a rotating brush or wiper suc as shown at 19 in Figure 3, which is driven in the proper direction'to lay the margins down and rub them firmly into secured engagement with the heel block. This wiping member may be made of rubber or other faces away from the cutter a distance to.

produce a narrow marginal edge of substantially the same continuous width entirely about the top, breast and bottom portions of the heel, and means located in advance of said gage considering the trimming movement and positioned to fold the edges of'the cover as they are trimmedby the cutter down over theadjacent surfaces of the heel.

2. A machine for completely finishing the leather cover of a wooden heel comprising a cutter and a gage adjacent thereto, positioned to form a rest for the top, breast and bottom surfaces of the heel and to hold said surfaces away from the cutter a distance to produce a narrow marginal edge of substantially the same continuous width entirely about the top, breast and bottom portions of the heel and a wiper for foldin the marginal edges as they are trimmed own over the heel.

3. A machine for trimming and applying the trimmed edges of leather covers to Wooden heels, comprising means for cutting away the excess over a definite marginal edge of the cover projecting from the heel and means for automatically laying the trimmed marginal edges of the cover down leyer the adjoining face portions of the eel.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

JOSEPH BURGER. 

